Everything happens for a reason.
Like for instance, Brian and Nelson’s slowmo-ness.
Because it takes them forever to get ready, by the time we step out of the hotel to hail a cab, Mrs. Zhang’s taxi is just pulling over to let someone off.
It is all timing.
Mrs. Zhang, a bubbly and motherly middle-aged woman, becomes our driver/tour guide/nanny/butler/entertainer/photographer for the duration of our trip.
But I believe the real reason why our paths have crossed is this:
Lao Yu Tou Fish Restaurant
Rather than going to the tourist trap restaurants on my list, Mrs. Zhang suggests we try something genuinely local and brings us to this restaurant about 1000 meters from the Siberian Tiger Park. According to her, Lao Yu Tou is the best place to experience local Harbin cuisine.
These are what greet us when we enter the restaurant:
The traditional open kitchen
Stacks and stacks of dirty dishes
90% of Harbin’s population waiting to get a seat. (I swear it feels like it!)
Sterilized eating tools. Thank God!
Right away I know this is going to be an awesome meal.
First, we pick a good-sized fish
Then we pour the secret broth into the built-in cast iron wok
Carefully put in the cleaned and gutted fish
Then wait for it to boil, a bit like shabu-shabu
We don’t like to waste time, so we keep ourselves busy while we wait.
With these:
Pickled vegetables
Native chicken with soy sauce and ginger. Flavorful but bony.
Pickled and smoked pechay. Yum.
Some fish intestine (liver?) cooked with fish roe. Now this is REALLY good!
Spongy bread. They don’t do rice here. But this is way better than rice.
Ooops! This is the only picture I have of the fish. Sorry. When I get carried away, I forget. But this is the best fish pot I have ever had. Because the fish is fresh, its meat is so soft and sweet. It’s like eating baby meat. And with the addition of vegetables, mushrooms and tofu, the soup has become a milky color and is so flavorful that if you use it to cook rice, you will have the best congee in the world. And yes, that is my plate. I am a fish head and breast fin person.
And for dessert, frogs in Chinese sweet syrup
We wash down the amphibians with this ice-cold Harbin Beer
To date, this is one of the greatest meals of my life.
Brian, Mrs. Zhang, Sherylou, Nelson, Me
I am just kidding about the frogs, silly!
Lao Yu Tou 江北老于头渔馆: Longjiang No. 1 Village, Songbei District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. 松北区龙江第一村村口 (距东北虎林园1000米处) Tel: +86451-87162555, +86451-88107660
